Charlotte, NC Airliner Crashes During Storm, July 1994

USAIR WAS CARRYING 55 PASSENGERS AND CREW MEMBERS WHEN IT CRASHED DURING A THUNDERSTORM.

Charlotte (AP) -- A USAir jet crashed on approach to the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport during a thunderstorm Saturday, shearing off the top of telephone poles and killing at least 18 of the 55 people aboard.
One man was seen running from the plane yelling, "Help me, help me. I'm on fie." At least 33 were taken to area hospitals and at least six people were unaccounted for, said airport director Jerry Orr.
Most of the injuries were from the impact, others were from burns. It wasn't immediately known whether anyone on the ground was injured.
Flight 1016, a DC-9, had taken off from Columbia, S.C., before cashng at about 6:40 p.m, officials said.
Kathleen Bergen, manager of public affairs for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta, said the plane was not able to land on an initial approach but she did not now why. Storms in the area had reduced visibility to about a mile.
"They were trying to come out of the landing attempt, to come around and try to land again" just before the crash, Bergen said.
The plane smashed into trees and sheared off the top of telephone poles then broke into three large pieces after hitting the ground, Orr said. The rear section of the plane slammed into a house.
Crews rescued several passengers who were trapped in the crumbled rear section and it wasn't immediately known whether anyone was home.
Phillip Robinson, a minister who lives near the airport, said he was sitting in his car watching planes take off and land when he saw the jet crash about 200 yards away during a bad lightning storm.
He saw a man with his clothes on fire running from the plane yelling, "Help me, help me. I'm on fire."
Robinson said visibility was very poor because of heavy rain and he could not see the control tower.
The last major accident at the airport occurred in 1974 when an Eastern Airlines jet crashed, killing 70 people.
In that crash, Eastern Flight 212 from Charleston was attempting an instrument landing in patchy fog when it slammed into a cornfield 3.3 miles south of Charlotte- Douglas airport on Sept. 11, 1974. The crash was the first of a commercial airliner in the municipal airport's history.
Rescuers worked for 16 hours to remove the bodies of victims strewn among twisted metal in the cornfield, the woods and a nearby ravine. Thirteen people, including a flight attendant and the co-pilot, were among those who were rescued from the wreckage. Three of the 13 later died.

Comments

Jerry and Trish. I often come back to the web and read about the both of you. I was 18 years old when the both of you left us. Who would have thought three months later, I too would take the same flight on October 11, 1994 that the both of you took. It was the same route, same plane, and same destination. But, my journey didn't stopped there. Once we got to Charlotte, we were rushed to our next flight. That flight took me to O'Hare International Airport where I started my future as a Navy Seaman. Jerry and Trish, the both of you were my Angels on that flight. I simply wanted to say, "Thank you and I will always Love The Both of You! ????? R.I.P. Jerome & Patricia Price. ?????